300,000 Expected to Attend Gay Pride Festival

Organizers are expecting 300,000 visitors for the 28th annual Gay and Lesbian Pride Festival and Parade this weekend.

The event will feature 200 parade units and 300 vendor booths, said city spokeswoman Tish Sutherland.

The event is organized by Christopher Street West, a nonprofit organization based in West Hollywood. The group is named after Christopher Street in New York, where the modern gay rights movement was launched in 1969, when gay patrons refused to leave the Stonewall Inn after being ordered out by police.

The festival will be held Saturday and Sunday at West Hollywood Park on San Vicente Boulevard.

The festival be from noon to 12 a.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday.

The parade will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday and begin at Santa Monica and North Crescent Heights boulevards, and will continue west down Santa Monica Boulevard to Robertson Boulevard.

A domestic partnership commitment ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday. Couples who would like to participate must register by 1:30 p.m., Sutherland said.